1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a body structure for vehicles having a sliding door.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-140986, filed May 11, 2004, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
In conventional vehicles having a sliding door, a rail cover may be provided for covering a slide rail which is arranged at the back of the sliding door (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application, First Publication No. H05-017249). In the disclosed rail cover, a lower portion overlaps with the slide rail in the vehicle's width direction, and the slide rail is covered except for a gap, provided between the lower edge of the rail cover and the vehicle body panel, for guiding a door support arm. An upper edge portion of the above rail cover forms a parting line together with a lower edge of the rear side glass which is arranged above the slide rail, so as to prevent a panel joint line from appearing in a vicinity of the rear side glass.
However, even in the above structure, a panel joint line between the rail cover and the vehicle body panel may be produced in the vicinity of the rear pillar at the back of the rear side glass, which affects the appearance of the vehicle, and relevant improvement has been required.
In addition, the rail cover is arranged from a lower edge portion of the rear side glass over the slide rail and is thus a relatively large member. Therefore, improvement in performance of mounting the rail cover to the vehicle body has also been required.